Shanelle Sullivan

It was supposed to be a night out to celebrate the New Year. Instead, it turned to tragedy.

The Amityville community mourned the loss of a 17-year old Amityville High School student last week, Shanelle Sullivan, who was killed in a motor vehicle accident. She was headed to New York City to watch the ball drop and ring in the New Year when the accident occurred.

Police said that Sullivan was in a Ford Explorer driven by Anthony Bussie, 25, and his nephew, Kamell Bussie, 20. The Explorer apparently clipped another vehicle near Exit 17 on the Southern State Parkway, and the vehicle ran off the road and into a nearby wooded area. The accident occurred at approximately 9:30 p.m.

Sullivan was in the back seat of the sport vehicle and police said was not wearing a seat belt. Anthony Bussie, who also died in that accident, was wearing a seat belt as was his nephew who was in the front seat of the car at the time of the accident. He was treated and released from Mercy Medical Center in Rockville Centre. The driver of the other vehicle, identified by police as Joseph Guigliano, 49, was not injured. His vehicle ran on to the shoulder of the highway.

Sullivan was a senior at Amityville Memorial High School and Wilson Tech, and had hoped to graduate in June and attend college to study criminal justice. She was described by those who knew her as a warm girl who had many friends.

"She had one of the biggest smiles I have ever seen," said Dr. Scott Andrews, the high school principal. "She had a very outgoing personality."

The school district acted quickly upon hearing of her death calling on the district’s crisis team. Early on Tuesday morning, the day students were to return to school following the New Year holiday, they made the emotional needs of teachers and students a priority, said Andrews.

"We encouraged teachers to keep an eye out for anyone who needed to talk to someone and we had counselors set up in the guidance center," said Andrews. "Quite a few students came in on their own and others were brought there by teachers."

Andrews added that the counselors listened and allowed the students to talk about their feelings. "The thing we wanted to get across is that they should understand that there is not a right or wrong way to feel about a tragedy like this, and that everyone deals with tragedy differently," said Andrews. "We wanted to be there to reassure the students and help them through something that is very tough and difficult."

Services for Sullivan were held at First Church of God in Amityville, Rev. Roberta Harvin, pastor officiating. Burial was on Saturday.